OLD CHATHAM – The Shaker Museum and Library has announced plans to close its Old Chatham museum buildings in preparation for the future move to the historic site at Mount Lebanon Shaker Village in New Lebanon. The Museum will continue to foster the preservation and dissemination of the Shaker heritage through a variety of projects, programs and exhibits beginning this summer at the New Lebanon location.

“This has been a bittersweet decision for us, as we carry a deep appreciation for the beautiful farm we have inhabited for 59 years,” said Museum president David Stocks. “But we are excited about the next phase of activity and restoration at Mount Lebanon and are dedicated to creating a vibrant community and institution there.”

The decision to close the Old Chatham location, which has housed the museum’s extensive collection of artifacts since 1950, was difficult and was not made lightly or quickly, added Stocks. The Museum began plans to restore the existing historic structures at Mount Lebanon eight years ago, and has undertaken several stabilization projects in the intervening years.

In order to make the best use of limited resources, plus plan for the sale of the Old Chatham property and prepare a suitable space for the Museum’s vast collection of Shaker artifacts, the Museum board and staff felt this was the best course.

The Mount Lebanon site was the first organized, largest, and most successful Shaker communal society in America, and the seat of the sect’s leadership for over 150 years. The centerpiece of the North Family at the village was the unique Great Stone Barn. Mount Lebanon Shaker Village was named to the World Monuments Fund list of 100 most significant endangered historic sites in the world in 2004. The same year, the Museum purchased the North Family, containing 30 acres and 11 extant Shaker buildings, with the plan of merging its premier collection of Shaker artifacts with the Shaker movement’s most significant historic site.